By Chance
by Azzandra
Summary: The most random people can have in common something. Like witnessing something unbelievable.


By Chance  
by Miss_Laddy  
  
"Ugh! Guuuuuys! I thought I told you not to buy milk, because nobody drinks it and it ends up spoiling and stinkin' up the whole fridge!"  
  
Pry winced at the sound of Azzy's voice. The thing about the owner's voice was that it could get very, very high-pitched. It was all but annoying.  
  
"Zippher bought it!" Pry retorted and turned off the TV. Then, something clicked. "Wait a minut. You didn't go shopping or something, did you?!"  
  
The faerie Lupess jumpped off the couch and half-walked, half-flew to the kitchen.  
  
"What are you looking for in the fridge?"  
  
"Hummm?"  
  
Azzy stuck her head out of the said object, getting a better look at her neopet.  
  
"Well... I was bored. And when I get bored, I eat. Except when there's a TV nearby. Then I watch TV. Or when there's a good book. Then I--"  
  
"Alright, alright, I get your point!" Pry waved her paws in horror, seeing the general direction of this conversation. "Is there really nothing for you to do?"  
  
"Well, since there's nothing on TV, no good book to read and no moderately- evil Halloween Aisha threatening to take over the world using my grandmother's chocolate and cheese cake, I'm bored. So I eat." To emphasize her point, Azzy raised a plate with a slice of the aforementioned chocolate and cheese cake. "Zippher followed the recipe. Lucky, neh?"  
  
Pry started rubbing her temples.  
  
"Azzy... Shouldn't you get a job?" Pry started with a light tone.  
  
Azzy blinked while chewing slowly. She swallowed and continued to stare at Pry.  
  
"...Why?"  
  
Pry sighed and started to say something, but Azzy imediatly cut her off.  
  
"I mean, we're pretty well off, our bank account reached a personal record, all thanks to my Meerca Chase games, and I--"  
  
"Azzy!" Pry yelled, interrupting. "This isn't about Meerca Chase or chocolate and cheese cake! This is about you getting an occupation!"  
  
"Oh. Why didn't you say so? I got myself a job interview in two hours!" Azzy laughed and walked to the livingroom, leaving Pry dumbfounded.  
  
Pry blinked. Then looked towards the couch, now screeching under Azzy's weight, blinked again, and looked at the refrigerator door.  
  
"...Job interview?..."  
  
***  
  
"...And anoth'r thing, yer milk spoils too fast!" the angry green Zafara yelled, betraying her accent.  
  
The shopkeeper swallowed back his stinging reply and smiled politely.  
  
"I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, "if our items offend you. But we just sell 'em, we don't make 'em. Now, if you'll please..."  
  
The Plushie Cybunny gently guided the Zafara to the door.  
  
"But, Ah'm not done y--"  
  
The door was closed before she could continue rambling. This day was quickly turning into an unnecessary headache.  
  
Thorne, the Plushie Cybunny in charge of the shop, was only taking care of it for one day. One long, exhausting, little-productive, painful day. His owner would pay dearly for putting him through this!  
  
Returning to his counter, he looked at the clock. He couldn't close before ten. Oh, joy.  
  
Hopefully, that... Zippher, or whatever her name was, wouldn't return to complain about the milk. Or worse, start rambling about how she was raised on a farm, and there milk was always fresh and...  
  
There was that headache he dreaded.  
  
***  
  
Jinx collapsed on the ground with a loud thud. The shadow Uni jumpped to her feet immediatly and shook her head to clear those green stars she was seeing.  
  
Looking back at the object that had made her trip, she kicked it frustrated with a hoof. The empty Neocola can flew a good twenty feet.  
  
A Crokabek, trying his best to hide it with his wing, was snickering at Jinx's antics.  
  
"Oh, shut up, McCaffrey!" Jinx shot at her Petpet.  
  
"Aye, ma'am!" McCaffrey said, continuing to snicker.  
  
Jinx rolled her eyes. Despite her glossy, perfectly black fur, her long dark mane and tidy appearance, she was a klutz. While her mother used to be the perfect image of unwavering grace, she was condemned to walk this earth tripping on her own hooves.  
  
And McCaffrey only made things worse...  
  
Actually, "Jinx" wasn't even her real name. It was a nickname. Not that it was better than her real name, it was just... more suiting.  
  
"Shut it and come on. Wanna be late AGAIN?" Jinx yelled.  
  
"Aw, relax!" McCaffrey made a bored gesture with his wing. "S'not like they're gonna tar and feather us! Y'know why?"  
  
Jinx narrowed her eyes, trying to anticipate what McCaffrey might say.  
  
"Why?" she asked cautionously.  
  
"Cause we're already black and featherly!"  
  
The old Crokabek started rolling on the ground laughing. Jinx rolled her eyes over her head.  
  
"That was not even funny!"  
  
"What'cha mean, not funny?!"  
  
They continued walking down the road, discussing the funny-ness of the pun. Or joke... or statement... Whatever!  
  
***  
  
Azzy was half-glad for getting the job.  
  
Heck, she just walked trough the door and they said "You're hired, you start today!" and gave her that awful khaki shirt and cap.  
  
The job, per se, consisted of gathering strays from all over town. Her partner, or whatever he was supposed to be, was the only one authorised to drive the van. That was partly irritating and partly logical, since Azzy didn't know how to drive a van half the size of her own kitchen.  
  
Well, the downside would be that Caesar, the guy driving, didn't let her do much of anything.  
  
She asked to stop for some Neocola, but he said "No way, next thing you know you'll spill it!". Then she asked for a break, but that just didn't go well with him.  
  
Now she reached towards the radio, but got slapped on the hand.  
  
"Ouch! What was that for?!" Azzy asked, rubbing her hand.  
  
"Give it up. The radio stays off!" Caesar replied, not taking his eyes off the road.  
  
"But! If there's music you don't like, you can always change!" Azzy attempted.  
  
"That's what my last partner said. But whenever I tried changing the poorly-written love songs, she'd make these giant puppy eyes that nobody could resist."  
  
Azzy blinked.  
  
"Let me guess: dictionary definition of ditz?" she asked with a sly smile.  
  
There was a moment of silence. Suddenly, they both burst out laughing.  
  
***  
  
Thorne giddily flipped his keys and locked the door to the shop. 'Free, at last!' was his only thought.  
  
It was already semi-dark. The way home was either short or long. The long way, on main roads, under streetlights. The short way, between buildings and shops, on dark alleyways.  
  
Now, Thorne was anything but a coward. And his (fairly rich) owner had trained him well enough. He could hold his own, he was sure.  
  
So he turned the corner and slowly went towards home.  
  
***  
  
Dark alleys made Jinx nerous. Not because of the strange, looming shadows that seemed ready to attack her-- well, maybe those too. But because she tripped much more easily in the dark.  
  
As if a cue, the minute she thought it, she tripped and noisily landed between some trashcans. McCaffrey started laughing maniacally, before fluttering next to her, to check if she was alright.  
  
That's when she realised she was stuck. Really stuck. Her back legs were trapped under a trashcans. After squirming for awhile (and McCaffrey being no help), she calmed down and rested, thinking of a way to get out.  
  
***  
  
The van screeched to a halt. Azzy jumpped out of the car.  
  
'A dark alley. Perfect hiding place, neh?' she thought.  
  
Azzy refused to use nets. She just persuaded Neopets to come with her. And when she failed, Caesar came from behind with a net.  
  
"Hurry up and get the frelling thing!" Caesar yelled from inside the van.  
  
"Don't rush me!" Azzy said, storming into the alley.  
  
Dark, abandoned alleys didn't aggravate Azzy in any way. She didn't see the point in fretting that something is going to attack you out of nowhere.  
  
Her steps resonated, but came to a sudden halt.  
  
There. A Zafara. A dark blue Zafara with giant blue eyes staring at her.  
  
Azzy kneeled.  
  
"Hello..."  
  
***  
  
Thorne tensed the moment he turned another corner. He recognized the khaki uniform of the pound workers. He HAD seen them up close, in fact.  
  
But this one looked kind of harmless and not exactely on the bright side. She was kneeling in front of a Zafara, reaching towards her with a wavering hand.  
  
'Run,' he mentally urged the Zafara.  
  
The nets would appear eventually. It always ended that way.  
  
"Run," he whispered loud enough for only him to hear.  
  
***  
  
Jinx was going to yell for help, if the person hadn't been a pound captor. She knew from experience, they caged first, asked questions later. And right now, she didn't feel like getting slowed down even more.  
  
But this one made her curious. Knowing she wouldn't be seen in the dark, thanks to her shadowy coat, she observed.  
  
The human kneeled in front of a blue Zafara.  
  
***  
  
"Come on, I'm not going to hurt you!" Azzy insisted, and crawled towards the Neopet. She didn't move a muscle.  
  
The Zafara had a very... disarming way of looking at her.  
  
It wasn't sweet, it wasn't threatening, it was... sad. It was as if she'd seen all the misery in the world and couldn't let go of the pain.  
  
Azzy blinked several times and dropped her outstretched hand.  
  
The Zafara sighed noiselessly.  
  
Then disappeared. Just like that. Shadows surrounded her and obscured her from everybody's vision.  
  
And when the shadows disappeared, no more Zafara.  
  
A stinging chill went down Azzy's back.  
  
***  
  
Thorne started hyperventilating. No... it was physically impossible!  
  
The pound worker, it was her. She did something...  
  
He turned on his heels and ran like a rabid Lupe towards home.  
  
***  
  
Jinx felt her limb go numb and the tips of her ears go cold.  
  
"Ms. Penumbra," McCaffrey whispered almost inaudibly. "We... have to go... the meeting... we're... almost late..."  
  
McCaffrey was obviously disturbed and Jinx didn't doubt he'd seen the whole thing.  
  
Yes... Go. Now. That was it, they had to go. 'NOW!' Jinx thought desperately.  
  
***  
  
Azzy had no idea what that was all about. She scratched the back of her neck, annoyed by the coolness of her own fingers.  
  
Caesar was yelling for her.  
  
"Coming!" she yelled back.  
  
That wasn't real, was it? 'I mean, it didn't FEEL real.'  
  
Therefor, it wasn't.  
  
***  
  
Epilogue:  
  
Azzy stumbled out of bed, despite her urge to stay between the warm sheets.  
  
She should really get a TV installed in her room.  
  
She must've been half-asleep last night. Sure, the first five streets were better lit, but that Zafara disappearing in thin air was... dreary!  
  
And those big, sad eyes...  
  
"No more late night TV for me!" she muttered and scratched her head, while trying not to get tangled into her own long black hair.  
  
***  
  
Thorne had spent the night on his namesakes. On thorns, specifically. Well, not literally, but...  
  
His sleep was definitely haunted. The comfortable soft sheets were irritating to his skin.... fur, cloth, whatever Plushie Cybunnies were made of.  
  
"Hallucination," he said simply, while staring in the mirror.  
  
'So go on with your life,' he muttered in his head.  
  
***  
  
McCaffrey didn't say a word about the... incident, so Jinx didn't say anything either.  
  
Despite his antics, McCaffrey was wise. So if the subject was off limits, it was for a good reason... right?  
  
"EclipsePenumbra!" a voice shreeked.  
  
Jinx flinched at the sound of the voice. The teachers always used full names when they were angry. And this teacher was ANGRY!  
  
While she asked the teacher to repeat the question, she silently wondered if anything like that Zafara really existed.  
  
'Wouldn't learn about it in class, anyway,' she mused and got her attention focused back on the class.  
  
The End.  
  
Author Note: Thorne is an imaginary character, any similarity to real Neopets is purely coincidential. Jinx is a real character, real name EclipsePenumbra. Azzy is the author of this story. Don't you feel informed? 


End file.
